Some of the best Irish comedy is available for free online, so why aren't more people watching?

Some of the best Irish comedy today can be found on video-sharing websites like YouTube, Vimeo and Vine - but many people aren't watching.

Even TV stations like RTE and TV3 have noticed the influx of Irish comedy online and are hiring online Irish comedy to work with them in an effort to capitalise on the trend.

Here are 5 of the best Irish comics and comedy groups that you are probably not watching. (yet)

Tropperstopper

Don't be put off by the unusual name; Tropperstopper is the man behind such viral videos as '101 Things Irish Parents Say' and 'Things Irish People Say on Holidays'. He's a hit on Reddit Ireland and several other social media sites, but with over half a million views he really should have more than 1500 subscribers.

Shifts

This group call themselves 'Shifts', known to the Irish YouTube and comedy communities as 'the Shifts lads'. They appeared on Republic of Telly last night for the first time, having been scooped up following their online sketch 'Senior Infants.'

They are a staple of both the 'Ireland' and the new 'Irish Comedy' sections of Reddit with multiple sketches.

You may have heard of them before during a week called 'Skweek', where they attempted to create a new sketch every day for a week.

Final Boss Media

Also known as 'epicnewsdaily' (due to the inability to change a YouTube username once you set up the account), Peter Ganley and Chris Greene of Final Boss Media are the two comics on this list that you probably have seen or heard of. The pair were behind the massively popular 'Tallafornia Swipe' videos, even appearing on the TV3 wrap-up show of the first series, and are the darlings of link-sharing website Reddit.

They scored their first million-view viral with 'Two Irish Guys Watch Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball', which was subsequently blocked in most countries by Cyrus record company, according to their Facebook page.

The comedy duo show no signs of slowing down- as recently as three days ago they posted a clip of themselves watching Kayne West's new music video, which has already viewed over 45,000 times.

The Sonic Screw

Sean Connolly, or 'The Sonic Scew' as he's known on YouTube, has over 3,600 subscribers after 19 months making videos. His witty observational comedy is only matched by his timing and ability to tap into what YouTube wants to see.

Sean has not yet been snapped up by any TV stations but it's only a matter of time. See below his video on Google Plus, published just as the YouTube comments system changed and Google Plus became the most-talked about thing on YouTube.

Bonkers101

Another victim of YouTube's rules against changing usernames, 'Bonkers 101' prefers to post under his real name, Sean Burke. Sean, who appeared in the above video with Sean Connolly (The Sonic Screw), is perhaps most well-known for his family guy impressions.